Retro-nasal perception of sucralose aerosols in model wine systems

This study investigated the formation of aerosols containing non-volatile flavor compounds, specifically sucralose, during oral processing of model wine and their potential retro-nasal perception. It was hypothesized that non-volatile flavor compounds can be delivered via the oro-nasal route in the form of aerosols, generated via various oral movements, and contributing to retro-nasal sensory perception. In vitro experiments demonstrated that the total quantity of generated aerosol particles increased significantly with higher sucralose concentrations in the model wine (p < 0.001). Carefully-designed sensory evaluations, including A-not-A, check-all-that-apply (CATA), and scaling tests, were conducted to assess retro-nasal perception. The results confirmed that sucralose aerosols could trigger sensory perception during oral processing of model wine. Notably, blocking the retro-nasal olfactory route via nose-clipping led to a substantial decrease in discrimination accuracy (42 % → 13 %, p < 0.01), confirming the perceptual relevance of this transport pathway. This study is the first to demonstrate that liquid aerosols containing non-volatile flavor compounds can be formed during wine drinking and transported to the retro-nasal region, highlighting their potential role in an aerosol-mediated pathway for flavor sensation.